My High School Romance
by Stacielovesvampiresxoxo
Summary: Caroline Forbes's parents have just divorced and she and her mother have moved across town to the tiny suburb of Mystic Falls. She's just started attending Mystic Falls High, where she befriends and just might fall in love with Klaus Mikaelson, the charming and wicked "bad boy" with a heart of gold and who strangely, is just not quite like the rest... ;) CAROLINE IS HUMAN BTW! :)
1. The Basement

***A/N*- Hello lovely ladies and gents! I hope you all enjoyed my last multi-chap story and are as psyched for this new one as I am! Let's begin shall we?**

Caroline Forbes nervously twirled her long blonde ponytail around and around in her left hand. Today was her first day at the notoriously known Mystic Falls High School. She didn't want to be here, she missed her old school, her old house, and her old friends. But most of all Caroline missed her dad. Her parents had just gotten out of a slightly heated divorce. It was only slightly heated because her parents knew that their marriage had crumbled long ago and were honestly relieved to be done with it. Having a father that was more interested in Paxton, the local mail man than his wife was all the grounds for divorce Caroline's parents needed. So with the divorce now over and her parents officially separated, Caroline and her mother moved across town to the tiny suburb of Mystic Falls, Virginia. Caroline hoped that she wouldn't be a complete outcast at her new school. She hoped that by the grace of God, she'd earn herself at the very least one friend by the time the school day was over. She hoped.

Caroline walked up to the front office window of her new school hastily.

"Hello, my name is Caroline Forbes. I'm here to pick up my schedule," Caroline announced to the lanky, hawk-nosed woman who sat behind the window, trying for a cheery tone of voice.

The woman smiled and slid the sliding glass of the window open.

"Caroline Forbes," she said in a perfect southern drawl, "I'm Doris, nice to meet you dear."

Caroline felt herself smile a genuine smile, when she had hoped to make a friend at this school she hadn't been discriminating on just who that friend would be. Maybe this Doris woman and she could become buddies.

"It's very nice to meet you too Doris," she replied still smiling brightly.

Doris nodded and swiveled around in her rolly chair. She started shuffling through a file cabinet until at last she pulled out a sheet of paper from one of the many folders that the cabinet housed.

"Here you are sweet pea," Doris said as she offered the paper out to Caroline.

Caroline took it and scanned it over quickly. Her first period was history. That isn't so bad, thought Caroline happily. She had always been fond of history. There was something about it that made her feel as if she could travel back through time, to a time much more brilliant and lovely than this one, it spoke to the fantasist in her.

"Thank you," Caroline said and turned to leave, in hot pursuit of her next class.

Doris grinned and waved her off, "Good luck Caroline," she said.

Caroline nodded and rushed off, licking her lips. She just might have needed that luck after all.

"Shit, shit, shit," Caroline muttered under her breathe as she continued to frantically check room numbers.

She couldn't believe she had gotten lost. How difficult was it to find one little class, especially in a school this small? Mystic Falls High was only made up of 2 levels; Caroline's old school had had three floors, plus a basement.

"Room 505," Caroline read from her schedule and continued to walk down the long hallway that she was in.

The class had to be on the ground level, in the basement. Caroline needed to find stairs. After turning several corners and a great deal more of overall frustration, Caroline eventually located the set of stairs in the school that led down to the basement. The ancient stairs creaked and moaned in response to the new weight that Caroline put on them. She made her way down them quickly; she didn't want to miss first period all together. Caroline shivered and brought her hands up to hug herself as she felt the cold, moist air that the ground level of the school provided. She went about checking the room numbers of the classes once more. The next door she came to had the labeling, "Room 375" on it. If Caroline just turned the next corner she came to, she reach the 500's range for sure. She let out a deep sigh, "Almost there," she said to herself quietly.

In all honestly, Caroline was itching to get out of the poorly light, dank hallway she was in and get in a safe, warm and inviting class room.

She squared her shoulders and forced a lively smile as she rounded the corner at last.

Then she hit a wall. Or rather, a person so hard and lean that they could have very well been a wall. The person was much taller than Caroline and they loomed over her in a freighting manner. Their face was masked by the dark shadows that the eerie basement supplied. Caroline lost her balance and began to fall to the cemented floor. Just before she could though, the spindly, icy cold fingers of the hard, towering being in front of her, snaked around her waist. Caroline screamed a scream so harsh and blood curdling that it quickly died to one that was immensely painful and sickly silent.

"Shhh, shhh. It's okay, it's okay, you're safe," spoken in a soft British accent, were the last words that Caroline heard before she saw stars whirl before her eyes and her world went black.

***A/N*- Woops! Caroline fainted! But on the bright side… Hi Klaus! Anyway how'd you guys like the first chapter? Caroline's a little nerdy/shy in this one, just like many normal teen girls (I'm sorry but sometimes it's just unbelievable how everyone on this show is portrayed not at all like your average awkward teen! Lol) And I know Mystic Falls High school is definitely creepy in this chapter, but don't worry it won't always be like that. Are you ready to meet, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Bonnie, Jeremy and Alaric (R.I.P. Alaric :() in the next chapter? :) **_**Did you love it, did you hate it, or was it just okay? Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! **_


	2. The Wolf

***A/N*- Hello again my little lovelies! I can't believe that this story already has so many kind reviews after only being posted for such a short period of time! Some reviewers have asked whether or not this is an AH story and for that my response is for all who are wondering to please take a peek at the category listing/summary of this story and infer! ;) Thank you to all who've read/reviewed/followed/favorited, this story would be nothing without you! Now on to the story…**

Caroline awoke the harsh gleam of florescent lighting and the strong odor of lemon scented pine-sol. There was a dull ache in her skull and it seemed to her that the world had gone all topsy-turvy since the last time she'd seen it. Caroline tried to lift herself up but failed miserably, her limbs like jelly.

"I wouldn't get up if I were you love," someone suggested to her from the corner of the tiny room she now noticed that she was in.

Caroline's eyes jerked to the speaker's. It was the man from the basement. Except he wasn't a man, he was a boy really.

"What happened?" Caroline asked still staring at the boy. She was utterly transfixed. She'd never seen anyone so devastatingly beautiful in all her life. The boy's face was chiseled and hard but his features were oh so very soft. His lips were a pale pink, warm and inviting. His eyes sparked a supernatural ice blue. _Good Lord in heaven_, thought Caroline, strangely feeling woozy once more.

A smirk played across the boys striking face, "You were so taken by the sight of me that you swooned right into my arms," he answered, his velvety voice dripping with charm.

Caroline felt a rush of blood creep up her neck and into her cheeks; she didn't know what to say. She was embarrassed, should she feed this boy's ego or mock his cocky remark? Just as Caroline had a comeback that she considered to be witty but just a hint flirtatious though, a young woman entered the white-walled room.

"Don't mind Nik here darlin', he's just clueless when it comes to talking to pretty young girls like you," the woman said with a short laugh. Caroline smiled at her; she could tell she'd grow to like this woman. In fact, Caroline thought she already did.

When Caroline inspected the woman more closely, she realized that she was even younger than she had assumed before. The woman couldn't have been more than 25 or so years old and with her strawberry blond locks twisted into a loose side braid and gentle hazel eyes she could easily pass for a student at the high school.

The boy, Nik, then rose from the chair he had been planted in, "Oh come on Jenna, can't I have a little amusement in my poor life without you going and trashing it?" he asked the young woman mock-innocently.

Jenna rolled her eyes but Caroline would swear on her life that she saw a smile tugging at her lips as she did, "No," she answered chidingly and added, "you're a wolf Nik, an absolute wolf… preying on this unfortunate little girl, you should be ashamed of yourself."

At this, Nik turned to Caroline, "Don't believe a word she says about me, Jenna lies. I'm a perfect gentleman I assure you," he told her with a wink.

Caroline laughed, "I'm sure you are," she said.

Nik grinned, "Such a lovely laugh you have. But I don't believe you've properly introduced yourself Ms. Giggles," he said.

Caroline's heart fluttered, "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry, I'm Caroline Forbes, this is my first day," she elaborated.

"I know," said Nik mischievously.

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him; she decided he was too confident for his own good.

"Nice to meet you Caroline, I'm Jenna. I'm the school Nurse here at Mystic Falls High," Jenna told her warmly.

"I'm feeling much better Jenna. May I leave the Nurse's office now? I'd sure like to explore the school a little more before my next class," Caroline said.

Jenna nodded, "Yes you're free to go, just take it easy for the rest of the day dear, we don't want to have you fainting again," she told Caroline.

Caroline smiled, "I promise I will, thank you for your help," she assured Jenna.

Just as Caroline was walking out of the Nurse's office and down the hall, Nik caught her arm.

"Where are you off to?" he asked her as she turned to face him.

Caroline shrugged, "I don't know. I should probably figure out where the rest of my classes are before my free period is over," she told him.

"I have this period off too, I could show you around," Nik offered with a friendly grin.

Caroline contemplated his offer. It wouldn't hurt to have someone who knew their way around the school and a little company would it? _Especially not when said company had handsome ocean blue eyes and perfectly tousled ashy blonde hair, _Caroline thought scandalously.

"All right, I'd like that," she told him finally.

Nik's eyes glittered, "Great. What's your next class Caroline?" he asked, his tone of voice noticeably brightener than it had been before.

Caroline looked down at her schedule. "Geometry with Kershaw," she read.

Nik nodded, "Kershaw's room is just past the library, come on I'll show you," he said and outstretched a hooked arm to her.

Caroline looked down at Nik's arm doubtfully.

Nik saw her do so and lifted her chin gently so that their crystal blue eyes met each other's.

Caroline shivered at the mere touch that his slender, cool fingers provided but she didn't shy away from it.

"I won't bite love…at least not very hard," Nik teased with a crooked grin, hoping to put some of the girl before him nerves at ease.

Caroline bit her lip and laughed. At last she accepted Nik's arm and they began to walk down the long corridor together, arm and arm, so close that Nik could feel the soft heat that radiated off Caroline like some sort of halo.

After a few moments of walking together in silence, Caroline spoke.

"Thank you," she said simply.

Slight confusion clouded Nik's elegant face, "For what?" he asked Caroline.

Caroline smiled and lightly squeezed Nik's arm, her eyes peering straight ahead, refusing to look at Nik's.

"For saving me."

***A/N*- Hello there! Okay I know I said that readers would be introduced to a slew of characters in this chapter but I don't know, it just felt right to focus on Caroline and Klaus mainly in this chapter and to end it here… hope you don't mind! By the way, can I just say how awesome it felt to write Jenna into this story! I miss her so much, you don't even know! Plus I love the opportunity I have with this story to write it in such a way that's light hearted and humorous too. Did anyone catch the (hilarious in my opinion) Klaus hybrid/vampire references in this chapter? Okay so I'm going to stop rambling now and let you guys do what you all do best… **_**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :) **_


	3. Friday Night Lights

Caroline Forbes groaned and plummeted onto her mattress with great relief. It had been a long day and she was grateful to be home, snuggled up in her fluffy down comforter and guarded from the harsh winter's chill outside. Her mother hadn't been there when she had arrived home from school, of course, but Caroline had left a cheerful voice message on her phone, assuring her that she had had a pleasant first day at Mystic Falls High School. And it wasn't a lie, Caroline _had _enjoyed herself. After Nik helped her navigate her way around the school, her classes had been a breeze. Caroline found it a little strange that Nik shared the same off hour as she did and that he happened to have five out of six total classes with her. And the class that Caroline didn't have with Nik, had his sister, Rebekkah, in attendance. Rebekkah. Despite her ice queen exterior, she had turned out to be quite friendly and took Caroline under her wing when lunchtime came around. She happily filled Caroline in on all the juicy scandals that were currently running the rumor mill at Mystic Falls. First there was Tyler Lockwood, the richest boy in school with serious anger management issues. Then there was Bonnie Bennett, the peculiar girl that was convinced she was physic. But the best rumor of all was that which pertained to Elena Gilbert. Elena Gilbert, the most popular girl in school, all demure and caring and sugary sweet. Rebekkah had told Caroline that Elena was "double dipping" when it came to boys. Gossip said that she was in love with both of the two Salvatore brothers, Stefan and Damon; apparently her fragile, fickle heart just couldn't decide which one to stick with so she'd bounce back between the two of them from time to time._ Predictable_, thought Caroline with a sigh, _two boys pining after a girl that doesn't even have enough sense to choose the right one. And all the while, no one's eyes have so much as flickered towards me._ No one's eyes ever did. Caroline had grown to accept this. Maybe she was just too focused on her studies to catch a guy's interest? She didn't know but at times she appreciated the fact that she didn't seem to have any suitors constantly vying for her affections, it certainly saved her a lot of time. Caroline hadn't had to worry about piling on pounds of makeup in the mornings or possessing a pristine hairstyle. She could simply be herself, not cowering behind any sort of mask. It was quite liberating honestly.

Later that evening, as Caroline lounged on the couch while catching up on the _Law and Order: SVU_ episodes she had missed, her phone buzzed. Caroline reached for her phone and quickly skimmed over the text message.

It read: _Hey love, are you doing anything tonight?_

Caroline furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the sender's number. It was foreign to her but Caroline was fairly sure that she knew who had sent her the message. Nik. Who else would call her love?

_Nik? How'd you get my number? And no, I don't have plans…why?, _Caroline texted back.

A moment later her phone chimed again and Caroline's heart sped up tenfold.

_Bekkah gave it to me. I was wondering if you would be my companion for the evening. After all, it's Friday night and I would assume you could use a friend, _Klaus replied with an endearing smiley face at the end of the text message.

Caroline glowed at this. Nik wanted to hang out with her and he was correct, she really could benefit from some company. So she hastily shot back a reply with her address and the time that Nik could pick her upand bounded form the couch and nearly skipped into her bedroom.

Half an hour later, there was a knock at Caroline's front door. She swung the door open and her gaze fell upon Nik. He stood outside in the snow waiting for Caroline with a lazy grin spread across his devilishly handsome face.

"Hey, ready to go?" Nik asked casually.

Caroline stared at him for a bit, her mind seemed to absorb every detail about the boy before her and file it neatly away in her memory. Nik wore a pair of black jeans and what looked like a white light sweater under a bulky wool coat. A set of timberlands graced his feet and a beanie adorned his head, shielding the burnt honey blonde locks that were underneath it.

"Almost just let me get my coat. You can come in, it's freezing out there," Caroline replied at last.

Nik smiled and nodded his head in gratitude. He started to move but hesitated just a moment at the door's threshold. Caroline didn't notice.

Once Nik was inside her home and the door was firmly shut, Caroline scurried about in search of a scarf and coat. She found one of each and quickly wrapped and tugged them on her body.

"I didn't notice that you wore glasses before," Nik remarked curiously.

Caroline flushed a bright pink hue, "Oh yeah, I do," she replied, awkwardly running a hand through her hair.

"They look nice on you…you look nice," Nik told her with a smile that could almost be pegged for as sheepish.

Every nerve in Caroline's body went numb at this. Her eyes mechanically cast themselves downward and she felt her blood swirl and heat to a fever pitch in her veins. Caroline blinked down at her attire. A coat, scarf, leggings, knock-off Ugg boots and a billowy shift dress was that she wore. She hadn't put an ounce of thought into her outfit while dressing this morning. She'd just gone for something that would provide warmth in the nearly subzero temperatures that never failed to accompany the dead of winter in Virginia.

"Thank you, you too," Caroline managed, sounding quite chipper.

Nik grinned, "No problem love. Should we get going? I've got something brilliant planned for us to do," he said and gestured towards Caroline's door with a wave of his hand.

Caroline nodded and turned the door knob, "Yeah, I'm pretty excited," she said, clenching her teeth and bracing herself for the cold.

Nik chuckled softly and slung an arm around Caroline as he braved the outside world with her, "Good."

"You know when you said you had something brilliant planned, I didn't think it was going to be a movie," Caroline remarked teasingly. Nik turned to her and flashed the most menacing scowl that he could muster. It quickly faded and was replaced by the sparkle in his eyes. "I'm sorry. There just isn't much to do in Mystic Falls, let alone when it's five degrees out," he told her.

Caroline smiled and reached out to brush her hand against Nik's arm lightly, "Hey, I was only kidding," she justified.

"I know, I was hoping to scare you so you'd faint into my arms again," Nik said, his wolfish grin on full display.

Caroline laughed, "Well you won't be able to."

Nik chuckled, _we'll see about that._

***A/N*- Hello my lovelies and happy Valentine 's Day! Sadly I'm single and don't have a valentine this year :( ** **But I'm hoping that all you fabulous ladies and gents accept the proposal of being my virtual valentine! Haha. Anyway on to the story… not a lot happened in this chapter, you'll see more of Nik and Caroline's "date" next chapter. Basically the purpose of this chapter was to start building on their friendship and to get Caroline more in-the-know about her new high school, i.e. the juicy rumors bit! I hope you all enjoyed this and are craving the next chapter as much as I am! **_**PRETTY PLEASE REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW!**_

_**Xoxo, Stacie.**_


	4. Left to Wonder

***A/N*- I can't believe we're already at 20+ reviews for this story and we're only 3 chapters in! I appreciate it so much you guys! I also want to thank all my virtual valentines out there and say that I hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day! Now on to the story…**

Caroline eased into her theater set and gripped the tub of popcorn in her hand tightly.

"Thank you for the popcorn, and the coke…and the sour patch kids," She said to Nik as he sat down beside her with a small smile.

Nik turned towards Caroline and chuckled throatily, "No problem love. But you'll share won't you?" he asked eyeing the little collection of junk food playfully.

Caroline laughed, "Never! You'll never get one of my sour patch kids!" she giggled.

"What if I did this then?" Nik whispered as he leaned over and snatched up a couple pieces of popcorn from the tub and took a long sip of the coke.

Caroline gaped at him in mock horror, "That was very rude!" she yelped, a smile threatening to pull at her lips.

Nik stared at Caroline. And then they both burst into laughter.

"Hey! Quiet! Can't you guys see the movie's about to start?" A guy seethed from the back row. This only made Nik and Caroline laugh harder, earning a frustrated kick of their seats from the patrons behind them.

Caroline grabbed Nik's arm in an attempt to stabilize herself and stop their laughter. It worked.

"We really should be quiet," Caroline whispered, still clutching Nik.

Nik bit his lip, the last of his laughter dying as he sobered, and nodded.

Caroline smiled and turned back to face the movie screen as the opening credits began to role.

When the movie let out, both Nik and Caroline where grateful. They had had seen some B grade movie that starred Zac Efron. It was mediocre at best.

"Did you like the movie love?" Nik asked as they walked out to where he had parked his car earlier that evening. He knew full well she hadn't. He hadn't either.

But Caroline nodded cheerily just the same, "Yeah. I don't think I'll ever look at Zac Efron the same though," she told Nik, humor ghosting at her vocal cords.

"Yeah…next time I'm picking the movie," Nik teased.

"Okay," Caroline said calmly even though her brain seemed to scream at her, _Next time?!_

"So you're agreeing to go out with me again then?" Nik asked with a mischievous grin sprawled across his handsome features.

Caroline huffed. "Nik you're the only person I know in this damn town. Well except for your sister. But of course I'll hang out with you again," she told him smiling.

"Good because I'm beginning to like you. You're very personable," Nik confessed.

"Personable huh?" Caroline said.

Nik nodded, "Yeah."

Caroline stretched out a hand and patted Nik's back, her fingers creating a comfortable pressure there as she faced him with glittering eyes.

"You are too."

The rest of Caroline's weekend passed uneventfully so. Her mother finally came home late Friday night and Caroline happily filled her in on everything Nik related. Caroline almost died of laughter at the sight of her mother's wayward glance when she informed her that Nik took to wearing a beanie and timberlands. Apparently in her mother's mind that equaled mass murderer or something. But after Caroline explained to her how decent of a guy Nik was, her mother seemed to warm up to the idea of him. That was Friday night. And Caroline slept soundly as Valentine's Day themed dreams swirled in her head, all of which strangely featured Nik. But Caroline didn't mind. Not at all.

Saturday brought about no difference.

Nor did Sunday.

And then came Monday. Valentine's day at last. Normally Caroline would sulk the duration of the day as her friends and what seemed like the entire population of her old high school would receive flowers and candies while she was left to graciously accept her mother's offering of heart shaped pancakes and a teddy bear before school. But this year was different, because she had Nik. She knew they were only in the budding stages of a friendship and Caroline didn't expect a gigantic boutique of roses or anything from him. It was simply just comforting to know that she might have someone to spend the special day with rather than coming home to an empty house and absently consuming a pint of Ben and Jerry's while _The Notebook _blared in the background. Today would be different.

"Morning mom!" Caroline greeted her mother later that morning. She had already dressed for the day and slicked her hair back into a neat ponytail.

Her mother looked up from her newspaper and momentarily stopped nursing her coffee. She too was already dressed in her sheriff's uniform.

"Oh hello honey. Happy valentine's day," she said with a smile, holding out the teddy bear and plate of pancakes.

Caroline grinned and waltzed over to her mother to retrieve her gifts.

"Thanks mom," she said brightly and kissed her mother's cheek, the teddy bear snuggled against her chest and a piece of pancake now in her mouth.

"I love you Caroline," Her mother said, her slim, deft fingers slipping beneath Caroline's chin gently.

Caroline smiled, "I love you too mom," she whispered into her mother's hair.

After plucking a few more heart pancakes from the plate, Caroline turned on her heel so she could set down her teddy and leave for school.

"Hey Caroline?" Her mother called behind her.

"Hmmm?" Caroline asked, halting for a second.

"I noticed that you're wearing your glasses to school today. You should wear them more often you know, they look nice on you," her mother complimented mildly.

Caroline's lips curled to form a secret smile, "As a matter of fact, someone just told me that," she told her mother and continued walking to her bedroom with lightness in her step that hadn't been there before.

Caroline's eyes instantly caught Nik's as she made her way to her locker that morning. He was already waiting for her there it seemed.

"Happy Valentine's day sweetheart," he said.

_Sweetheart. _That was a new one of Caroline. She liked it.

"Happy Valentine's day to you too," she told him while fiddling with the lock on her locker.

"Do you need some assistance love?" Nik asked her as he watched her struggle.

Caroline shook her head, determined to get the damn thing decoded herself. And she did, the locker popped open, taking several dozen rose petals with it.

"Oh," Caroline exclaimed as she stared at the inside of her locker. It was full of rose petals, so many of them that Caroline could bath in them if she wanted to. And taped to the mirror on her locker door was elegant looking stationary.

Caroline quickly snatched it up before Nik had the chance and tore it open carefully.

She read the letter in pure disbelieve, Nik peering over her shoulder all the while.

The letter read:

_My dearest Caroline, _

_My love for you is like a thousand roses._

_This was the best I could do to express that, my deepest apologizes._

_You're beautiful, you're full of light… please remember that._

_Happy Valentine's Day._

"Oh my God," Caroline breathed.

"You must have a secret admirer," Nik remarked.

Caroline whipped around to face him but by then he was already gone. Fading out like a single star in a blackened night sky, leaving Caroline there to wonder.

***A/N*- Hello my lovelies! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did while writing it (the mass murderer jokes and mother/daughter sappiness in all!) It's come to my attention that readers seem to like Nik's choice in attire so I also had to sprinkle that in here for fun! I also realize that the way I'm writing Klaus, Caroline, and friends might be a little, or a lot, OCC. And for that I'm sorry, I'm just writing them as I imagine their personalities to be like in this particular story… **_**Did you like it? Did you hate it? Who do you think could be Caroline's secret *cough* not so secret admirer?! ;) PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! (They're my bread and butter!) **_


	5. The Warm Up

***A/N*- Hello my lovelies! Before we start this update I have a couple of announcements… The first is that school is making me extremely busy right now (The ACT'S are coming up!) and requires most of my time so updates will probably become scarce for a while :( Don't worry though I PROMISE to try to get a new update out to all of you at least every two weeks though. The second announcement is that a reader recently asked that I post my updates to Tumblr. I would be happy to do that but I'm not sure how. If anyone can offer any assistance on that it would be much appreciated! Now please enjoy the story…**

Caroline tapped her pencil against her desk while listening to her history teacher, Mr. Saltzman, lecture about the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre.

"This was the time of prohibition and gangsters of course, a key player was Al Capone...," Mr. Saltzman droned on. American history was Caroline's most favorite subject in school and usually she would have been enthralled by what Mr. Saltzman was saying. But today she wasn't. Because her only interest for such a long period of time had been sneaking glances at Nik, trying her absolute hardest to decipher what he was thinking. But to no avail. Two weeks had passed since the Valentine's Day incident and Caroline and Nik had grown together as friends. But the idea that Nik could have been her secret admirer was a thought that Caroline just couldn't quite shake from her head. She longed to see some expression of affection on Nik's handsome face.

"Caroline? Can you answer the question that was presented to you please?" Mr. Saltzman asked with a stony gaze set on Caroline.

Caroline flushed, of course she hadn't been paying any attention and hadn't the slightest clue what the answer was.

"Can you please repeat the question?" she asked Mr. Saltzman meekly.

Mr. Saltzman groaned but repeated the question just the same and by the grace of God, Caroline answered correctly. Nik's tiny laugh and approving smirk at this did not go unobserved.

Later that same day, as Caroline was packing up her things after the last class period of the day, Elena Gilbert ghosted up next to her.

"Hey Caroline," Elena chirped.

Caroline nearly stumbled and clutched at her chest in surprise, "God Elena, could you be any quieter?"

Elena batted her doe eyes innocently, "Sorry," she offered.

Caroline huffed, "It's okay, what did you want?" she asked, already weary of the conversation and itching to get home.

Elena tried a friendly grin, ignoring Caroline's slightly annoyed expression "Tyler Lockwood's having a huge party tonight at his house. I thought you might want to come," she said.

"Oh," Caroline said.

"I'd love to come, thanks for inviting me Elena," said after a moment of contemplation.

Elena's pretty olive toned face beamed, "Great! I'll see you tonight then!" she squealed and handed Caroline a piece of paper with Tyler's address scribbled on it and sashayed away. Caroline stared down at the crinkled slip of paper, knowing she wouldn't need it to find Tyler's not so humble abode but decided to keep it anyway just in case. She drew in a breath and straightened her shoulders, thinking about going to her first official social event since she'd moved to Mystic Falls some weeks ago, and headed home.

It was nearly 8pm when Caroline approached the steel gate and glittering lights of the Lockwood plantation. She shivered and tugged her puffer coat more tightly around herself. The air was so chilled that night that it made Caroline's bones shake and she was grateful that the gate was swung open, permitting her entrance onto the estate grounds.

Once she got inside, Caroline felt a little better, she wasn't as cold. Her eyes scanned the expansive family den and she recognized Bonnie Bennett and Elena's little brother, Jeremy, dancing quite sexily together. Caroline's lips curved in a hilarious smile. _Bonnie had some game after all_. Searching even further, Caroline's gaze fell upon Nik. He was lounging near the fireplace, a red solo cup in hand, and chatting up a girl that Caroline remembered as Sue Carson. Caroline shook her head; she could go one night without talking to Nik. He wasn't _that _irresistible. She decided to go find Rebekkah, where Nik was, Rebekkah followed. As she turned to seek out Rebekkah however, Caroline's body made impact with another's.

"Sorry," she mumbled, inspecting her clothing for any spills of fruit punch.

"It's all right Caroline," a husky voice told her. The infamous Tyler Lockwood. Caroline felt the blazing heat of his eyes the moment her eyes sought out his. Clear brown and sparklingly in an eerie way.

"Hi Tyler, great party," Caroline told him, shifting uncomfortably in her fur lined boots.

Tyler grinned wolfishly, "Think of it as a party to welcome you to the community, it's held in your honor," he said.

Caroline bite her lip, "Thanks," she said, her brain already running through possible excuses that might be helpful in escaping the conversation she was in.

"Can I get you something to drink? A beer maybe?" Tyler offered, his eyes still steadily holding Caroline's.

"No thanks, I've already got one," replied Caroline, motioning to her drink.

"So you do," he said.

Caroline awkwardly rubbed her hands down her arms and shivered. She wasn't sure if was from the temperature or from her companion's off behavior.

Tyler noticed this.

"Caroline, are you okay? You look about frozen, come on, there's some blankets in the linen closet down the hall," he told her and grabbed her arm leading her there before she could protest.

The linen closet was dark once they got inside and Caroline immediately asked about turning on a light.

"Hang on, let's get you warmed up," Tyler replied. And then his body was against hers. His hands roaming over her and slipping beneath her shirt. Caroline jumped at the sensation.

"Tyler, stop," she told him, pushing him away.

He didn't. "I just wanna' warm you up all over Caroline…," he whispered in a voice that made Caroline's skin crawl.

"Tyler please," Caroline whimpered, tears stinging her eyes as Tyler's fingers slithered further and further up the flesh of her stomach. Caroline scraped and clawed at Tyler but he wouldn't let up. He shoved her down to the carpeted floor to gain better access and she tore her eyes away and set them firmly on the tiny slit of light that the space between the door and the floor provided. Caroline began to feel numb and the fight in her all but died away. But then suddenly she heard footsteps lightly treading outside the door and the fire inside her was restored completely.

"Help!" Caroline cried. "Oh please God, somebody help!"

Then Tyler's large, moist palm encompassed her mouth. Caroline bit down hard, tasting coppery blood.

In a moment, the closet door rocked open, hitting Caroline in the head and she screamed.

"What the bloody hell is going on here?!" screeched a voice. Nik. Her savior.

Tyler was the first to speak. "It's not what it looks like man, she wanted it," he said, not looking at Nik's seething face.

Nik scoffed, his eyes quickly skimmed over Caroline, so disheveled, so utterly terrified.

"I know exactly what she wants," Nik said, "-and it certainly isn't you."

Tyler's face contorted in rage and he began to clench his fists. The words _anger _and _management _struck Caroline's brain and she acted fast.

"Nik," she said but it came out a croak, a whisper.

That was all it took. Nik calmed down enough to notice that now wasn't the time to pick a fight with Tyler.

He tenderly bent down and retrieved Caroline, scooping her up easily into his arms. He dared not meet her eyes. Not yet.

"This isn't over," he said coldly to Tyler and walked out of the closet, through the large house (disregarding the stunned looks of party goers) and into the winter night.

***A/N*- Phew! That was an extremely difficult scene to write! I know not many authors choose to write an attempted rape scene but I thought it necessary for character and plot development. I based this scene off of one in the original book series…well there it is. Did you like it? Did you hate it? I'm sorry it took so very long to get this out to all of you by the way :(. P.S. I'm curious, are there any male readers out there enjoying my fanfiction? I've always wondered… haha. Anyway, **_**PLEASE REVIEW! (I'll send each of you an air kiss if you do!) **_


	6. Innocence

Neither Nik nor Caroline spoke for a long time. Nik drove Caroline home and accompanied her in, fortunately her mother wasn't home. It was only after he had sat Caroline down on the bed and filled a glass with water that Nik did speak.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his eyes flickering across Caroline's slight body. He could already see bruises beginning to paint her lovely pale skin a purple shade. Could already smell the heavy aroma of blood.

Caroline shook her head, "I don't know," she said quietly. "I can't feel anything Nik."

Nik sighed. _He'd kill Tyler, he was sure of it._ "Can I see?" he asked Caroline tenderly.

For a moment, Caroline's eyes went wide with fear upon hearing Nik's words and she recoiled just the tiniest bit but then just as quickly, she relaxed.

"Okay," she whispered.

Nik waited patiently as Caroline shed her party dress and covered herself in her favorite robe. To say he was shocked when she finally emerged from her bathroom was the understatement of the century. Nik was bewildered, but not by Caroline's beauty, by how sickly she looked, as if she'd become anew in a few short minutes.

"Come…sit on your bed it's all right," Nik said, trying his very best to soothe the girl that had become a close companion of his in only a handful of weeks.

So Caroline did. And Nik carefully peeled away her robe from her shoulders, making sure to leave the "taboo" areas of her body concealed. He gingerly placed his fingers on Caroline's skin and she shuttered.

"It's all right, you're all right," he said again.

Caroline nodded and breathed out deeply, leaning into Nik's gentle touch.

"Is it bad?" she whispered to him.

"Oh," Nik exclaimed, he hadn't actually been looking.

But now he did so and he was absolutely horrified. Nik saw where Tyler's beefy hands had made bruising impressions on Caroline's sweet skin. When Nik trailed his fingers over the marks lightly, she whimpered in pain.

"I'm sorry, there's some bruising here," Nik told her and removed his hands from her shoulders quickly.

And then, a single droplet of Caroline's blood trickled down onto the nape of her neck.

"Caroline, you're bleeding," Nik told her and immediately went in search of the wound. He had almost forgotten the smell of blood that scented the air with all his rage and loathing for that mutt Tyler.

"My head…it feels warm," murmured Caroline slowly.

Nik dove his fingers into Caroline's hair, ever so delicately, and when he withdrew he found them to be saturated in hot, sticky, crimson red fluid.

"Oh my God."

Caroline whipped around, "What is it?" she asked.

Nik couldn't believe what it was that he saw. Beneath the sheath of pale golden fluff that was Caroline's hair, was a deep, gaping gash, about three inches in length. It was accompanied by an egg shaped lump. And it was bleeding profusely.

"Caroline, we need to get you medical attention. The ER…there's a cut on your head and it looks like it needs stitches…a lot of them. And maybe-," Nik continued to ramble until suddenly stopping short. _And maybe a rape examination_, he thought with shivers and blood boiling heat coursing through his body all in the same instance. He wanted to tell Caroline this but he wasn't sure how exactly to put it and he wasn't sure just how _far_ Tyler had gotten with Caroline before he intervened.

"No. No doctors, Nik I can't do this," Caroline said, shoving him from his tangled web of thoughts and beginning to get off the bed.

Nik caught her arm gently, "Caroline, please it could get infected. You…you should think about filing a police report too. I'll be right there with you the entire time. I promise," he told her, a certain pleading gleam in his eyes as he did.

Caroline sighed, trying her very best to remain composure. But she fell short. And tears sprung from her eyes and her body trembled violently.

"Why?" She asked Nik, mumbling it against his chest as he cradled her as she shook.

"I don't know why," he answered honestly because that was the best he could do.

Caroline cried harder and Nik stroked her hair and they sat together not saying anything for a long time. Nik thought he might cry too.

After some convincing, Nik successfully got Caroline to the ER. The doctors and nurses patiently questioned Caroline about the incident and treated her wounds as Nik, ever the white knight, held her hand. Nik paid close attention to when a kind nurse, probably 20 or so, pulled Caroline off to the side and asked her if Tyler had raped her. Caroline had tearfully shaken her head and Nik felt as if the world had been lifted from his shoulders. The idea that Tyler could have stolen away Caroline's innocence was too much for him to handle. Because even though Nik wasn't completely certain that Caroline remained virtuous, it set him at great ease knowing that someone like Tyler hadn't taken that piece of her.

Once Caroline was all patched up and her mother had been called and informed of the incident, Nik drove Caroline home for the second time that night.

"My mom will be home soon," Caroline said as she rested on her bed, Nik at the foot.

"Do you want me to go?" Nik asked, unsure if he should leave her.

"No," Caroline answered quietly.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Stay."

So Nik stayed the night, watching Caroline sleep. Her mother didn't seem to mind, after Nik explained the situation of course. He found it miraculous how someone could still look so tranquil in slumber after enduring the event that Caroline had. Maybe she was stronger than everyone had thought. Maybe. Or maybe he was weaker. Because such passionate feelings stirred inside Nik that he'd never experienced before when he gazed on or thought of Caroline. Maybe he needed her.

***A/N*- Hello lovelies, so there it is. We've got some budding feelings ensuing in this chapter. I hope I did the "aftermath" chapter justice and I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I'm going to be super needy here and say… **_**REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! (it may cause me to update faster!) :) **_


	7. Intoxication in Silence

Nik slammed the door hard as he walked into his home early the following morning. It looked as if no one was awake, for not one creature was stirring. He was grateful for it because he needed time to think. Time to think about Tyler, and what he was going to do with the savage, _time to think about Caroline_…

What exactly was he going to do about her? Nik had only known Caroline a month or so really and before now, he hadn't felt any legitimate feelings for her. Lust at first possibly, but lust and lust alone. That wasn't entirely true though. Because he had, he _did _feel things for her. Feelings like compassion, interest, and excitement. Feelings that he hadn't experienced in such a long while that they were jolting.

Nik's endless thread of thoughts continued to wrap round and round his mind as he entered the kitchen. He opened the fridge door and grabbed the pitcher of orange juice inside, preparing to pour himself a drink. He shut the door and then there was his brother. Kol.

Nik hadn't seen him in three weeks. Not since he'd gone off gallivanting with some Barbie goes to college bimbo. _Good riddance_, Nik had thought when he'd left to go get smashed with the girl whose name he couldn't remember (and he was more than certain that Kol couldn't either at this point). Because Kol was the "bad seed" of the Mikaelson family, always had been, always will be. He took what he wanted form others without giving a damn and if he was a woman, one might say he slutted around. He was absolutely toxic to women and they knew it too. But they all lapped up the poison just the same. This was Kol; Nik's slightly older, more careless, brother.

Kol's dark eyes glinted as the fluorescent lights in the kitchen hit them and his mouth curved to form a sated looking smile, "Hello old brother, did you miss me?" He said, the words dripping out of his mouth like water.

Nik laughed dryly, "Already gotten tired of our play thing have we Kol?" he quipped.

Kol flashed his younger brother a dazzling grin, "Certainly not," he said and then looked to immerse in deep thought as he fished for his passé lover's name.

"Hannah, yes Hannah…that's it. Hannah and I simply lost interest in each other," he finally said.

Nik rolled his eyes, "Sure you did," he replied even though he was thinking of a totally different scenario, one where his brother had tossed the dim, poor girl aside.

Kol sighed, tired of his brother's line of questioning, "Anyway, where we you last night? I came home and you weren't here."

"I was out helping a friend," Nik replied nonchalantly with a shrug.

Nik's brother perked up at this, "And what friend would that be?" he asked.

"Her name is Caroline," Nik answered begrudgingly, tensing slightly. For some reason it bothered him to speak about Caroline to his brother, like he wanted to keep her a secret, _his_ secret.

Kol's eyes sparked at this, "_Caroline_? A girl?" he asked mock astonished.

Nik glared at him, "Yes Kol, not all of us simply see females as sex slaves. Some of us are able to maintain healthy, supportive relationships with them."

Kol laughed at his brother's words, "So this Caroline is she pretty fit?" he asked with a smirk and a quirk of his eyebrow.

Nik hated where this conversation was going. His brother was so superficial that it sickened him. He missed Elijah dearly and wished he wasn't off studying to become a doctor in London. He missed his parents…

"I'm not going to answer that," Nik replied shaking himself out from his thoughts and turning on his heel. He knew he should check on Caroline, he was going to call her before but now he felt a strong desire to see her, to lay eyes on her, just to make sure she was _there._

"Hey! Where are you off to?" Kol hollered after him as he walked in the direction of the door, grabbing his discarded keys from off an inn table.

Nik didn't look back but he shot back, "Out," while a secretive little smirk played across his lips.

Caroline didn't dare get out of bed. She wouldn't. The thought of facing the world again made her want to run away and hide. Filing the police report was extremely difficult. Sweeping it aside in exchange for enough hush money for Caroline to go to the college of her dreams was much harder. Why had had she even accepted the Lockwood's offer? Did she care about Tyler's reputation being soiled? No. The simple truth was that she didn't want to live out the remainder of high school years in utter humiliation. She didn't want to be known as _that girl_ forever more. She didn't want to hear the whispers. So it was with all this in mind that Caroline slumped against her bed once more, staring at the wall in silence because she was terrified of sleep, when the nightmares crept inside her head.

Nik knocked on Caroline's door. Pounded on it even. But there was no answer. He called Caroline's phone and typed out a text message. When no one came to the door to let him inside, he resorted to shouting.

"Caroline! Caroline sweetheart, let me in!" Nik yelled outside of Caroline's window.

Caroline heard someone's voice bellowing from outside and for a moment, she cowered in absolute fear. It was Tyler, her brain told her. She was certain it was.

"Go away! Oh please God, go way!" she screamed at her window. Thankfully the blinds were pulled down so she didn't have to look into Tyler's awful eyes.

Her palms were sweaty as she clutched her cell phone in her hand. She fumbled with the screen, trying to call 911 when she stopped. Her phone's screen was bright with notifications from Nik. He was outside her window not…not Tyler. Relief washed over her like a drug.

"Nik?" Caroline squeaked, inching towards her window and starting to draw up her blinds.

Her fingers trembled as she continued and her breathing was heavy and strained. Caroline tried to calm herself down. It was Nik, surely nothing to be afraid of. And sure enough, when Caroline tugged up the blinds at the way, she was greeted with a softly grinning Nik and she almost, _almost _smiled.

***A/N*- There you have it! Some back-story on Nik's character and we finally learn what happened between Caroline and the menacing, terrible Tyler! I hope you're all looking forward to the next update (lots of Klaroline and things "warm up" between the two of them CONSIDERIBLY…. ;)) Please **_**REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! They make me smile!**_


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